Game employing magnet playing pieces and magnetizable game

ABSTRACT

In a game involving the use of magnet playing pieces and a magnetizable game board, the element of chance is introduced by the orientation of the magnetic fields of the playing pieces which, although visually nondetectable, can be reversed by the players through physical rotation of the piece. When a player&#39;&#39;s piece is moved to a position that is a preselected critical distance from an opponent&#39;&#39;s piece, capture of the opponent&#39;&#39;s piece or by the opponent&#39;&#39;s piece occurs automatically as determined by the relative field orientations of the pieces.

GAME EMPLOYING MAGNET PLAYING PIECES AND MAGNETIZABLE GAME [451 Oct. 16,1973 3,680,865 8/l972 Davis 273/134 AB [76] Inventor: Thomas FrancisOConnell, 50 Budd Primary 2gp? Lowe Ave" Chester NJ. AttorneyEverett J.in er [22] Filed: NOV. 29, 1972 57 ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 310,227 In agame involving the use of magnet playing pieces and a magnetizable gameboard, the element of [52] U S Cl 273/131 AD 273/137 AE chance isintroduced by the orientation of the mag- [51] A63 3/02 netic fields ofthe playing pieces which, although visu- [58] Fie'ld 31 134 allynondetectable, can be reversed by the players through physical rotationof the piece. When a play- [56] Reerences Cited ers piece is moved to aposition that is a preselected critical distance from an opponentspiece, capture of UNITED STATES PATENTS the opponents piece or by theopponents piece oc- M curs automatically as determined the relative3,082,004 3/1963 Friedman... 273/131 AD x orientations f the pieces3,409,295 11/1968 Bernstein... 273/85 F 7 3,543,146 11/1970 Sherwood273/1 M UX 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures r mere 320m |0l\ RED FINISH BLACKSTART b R I l l k l k I r mm were b m m m m n k l k 1 k l 1 r mm as:

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FIGS

GAME EMPLOYING MAGNET PLAYING PIECES AND MAGNETIZABLE GAME BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to gamesand, more particularly, to games involving the use of playing boards ormarked playing surfaces and playing pieces in which the object or goalis to employ ones own playing pieces to capture or supplant the playingpieces of an opponent.

2. Description of the Prior Art A wide variety of prior art games areknown that employ playing pieces designed for movement on a game board,chess and checkers being illustrative. For many game enthusiasts, gamesthat rely entirely, or nearly so, on the skill and intellect of theplayers are not as attractive as they might be simply because the veryunskilled player is generally at an insurmountable disadvantage. On theother hand, playing piece playing board games that seek to combine bothskill and chance such as backgammon, for example, are all too oftenoverly complex. Additionally, such prior art games typically fail toprovide that ideal blend of skill and chance wherein the novice withextraordinary luck can sometimes overcome an exceptionally skilledplayer. Further, prior art games of the combined luck and skill typegenerally employ conventional, unexciting means such as dice, spinners,the turn of a card and the like for introducing the element of chance.Suspense, surprise and overall game interest are thereby limited.

A principal object of the invention, therefore, is to introduce an idealblend of skill and chance into a game board playing piece type of game.

Another object is to enhance the elements of surprise and suspenseinvolved in the means employed to provide the chance aspect of the game.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The indicated objects and additional objectsare achieved in accordance with the principles of the invention by agame in which the element of chance is introduced uniquely by themagnetic characteristics of the playing pieces. Specifically, in eachplaying piece the orientation of its magnetic field, which cannot bedetected visually, is the factor that is used to determine whether thepiece captures or is captured by an opponent piece when the two arebrought into close proximity.

In accordance with an important feature of the invention the playingsurface or game board includes rows and columns of markings thatdesignate the positions in which the playing pieces may be placed. Thedistance between a marking on which a playing piece may be positionedand the closest marking to which an opponents playing piece may be movedis critical and is selected in accordance with the invention as afunction of the magnetic field strength of the playing pieces. With theproper distance between adjacent markings in any column, the question ofwhether one playing piece will capture or be captured by an opponentspiece that is moved into an attacking or confronting position isdramatically and visibly answered. Specifically, the piece that isattacked will he suddenly and mysteriously knocked down and hencecaptured by the attacking piece provided that the orientations of themagnetic fields of the pieces, which are determined wholly by chance,are the same. Conversely, the attacked piece in effect jumps on andsiezes an attacking piece, thus capturing the attacking piece, if therespective magnetic fields are aligned by chance to provide for mutualattraction.

Another important feature of the invention is that the playing piecesare preferably wafer shaped, somewhat like a domino, for example, withthe poles of the magnetic field in each case being positioned on theopposite major faces of the piece. With a piece standing on one of itsminor end faces, its magnetic field is substantially perpendicular tothe poles and parallel to the playing surface. This arrangement ensuresmaximum interaction between the magnetic fields of two confrontingpieces.

Still another feature of the invention is that the board or playingsurface is constructed of a magnetizable material. As a result, thelower portion of the magnetic field of a piece, that is positioned onthe board on one of its minor faces as described, interacts with thegame board. Hence, when a piece falls as its magnetic field interactswith the field of a similarly poled confronting piece, it falls abruptlyand cleanly as if hinged at its bottom edge in the direction of fall sothat interference with other neighboring pieces is avoided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a sketch of a marked playingsurface or playing board in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sketch of a playing piece in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a sketch of the piece shown in FIG. 2 additionallyillustrating the configuration of the magnetic field;

FIG. 4 is a sketch illustrating the interaction of two confrontingpieces when their magnetic fields are in mutually attractive relation;and

FIG. 5 is a sketch illustrating the interaction of two confrontingpieces when their magnetic fields are in mutually repelling relation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION A game board in accordance with the invention, asshown in FIG. 1, ismarked with a substantially rectangular area which isdivided into a plurality of squares forming rows 101 through 107 andcolumns A through D. Within each square, such as square 107D in thelower right corner of the area 100 are two small rectangular markings107Db and 107Dr, the b and r designations being used to indicate blackand red colors or any other suitable indicia which differentiates theallowed positions of the pieces of one player from those of hisopponent.

In one illustrative embodiment of the invention the game board employedsquares such as 107D measuring 2 inches on a side. Each of the smallrectangular markings such as 107Db and 107Dr, for example, measured 11inch by A inch. Markings in the same square were spaced 1 inch apart andvertically adjacent markings in adjacent squares, such as markings 107Drand 106Db were spaced one-half inch apart. The space betweenhorizontally adjacent markings such as 106Ab and end faces 205 and 206.Preferably, a central aperture 207 connects major faces 201 and 202which serves to enhance the focusing and interaction of the magneticfields of two confronting pieces.

Also as shown in FIG. 2, each end of a playing piece is distinctivelymarked as by the colors black (b) or red (r), the top color alwayscorresponding to the color of those small rectangular areas on the gameboard on which the piece may properly be placed.

The general configuration of the magnetic field of a playing piece 200which is standing on its minor end face on a playing or game board 100is illustrated in FIG. 3. Since the game board 100 is of magnetizablematerial, the lower portion of the field is bent downwardly, as shown,to interact with the game board. It should also be noted from FIG. 3that the direction of orientation of the magnetic field surrounding thepiece 200 may be reversed simply by rotating the piece through 180degrees around a vertical axis.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the action that takes place when two playingpieces are placed in adjacent piece markings on the game board. Assume,for example, that in FIG. 4 piece 300, shown in dotted lines, ispositioned at 106Ar and piece 200 is moved to position 105Ab. It isfurther assumed that the facing poles of the two playing pieces areopposite, one being north and the other south, and hence mutuallyattractive. As shown, the net force from the combined magnetic fieldsmoves magnet 300 in the direction of the small arrows until it comes totest against magnet 200. Magnet 200 is held fast by the player who movedit to the position indicated so that the only movement that takes placesolely through the interaction of the magnetic fields is the movement ofpiece 300 as described.

If the facing poles of the two magnets 200 and 300 are alike, both northor both south, and they are placed in the positions describedimmediately above, then the action shown in FIG. 5 takes place.Specifically, the net force from the combined magnetic fields isrepulsive, tending to push the magnets apart. Since a player holds on tomagnet 200, it remains stationary and magnet 305 falls backward to theplaying surface.

As indicated above, a feature of the invention calls for a magnetizablegame board, such as steel, for example, which provides a short circuitfor the magnetic flux. The net effect of the coupling of the magneticfield of a playing piece with the game board is that the magnetic force,which is in the same direction as the magnetic field, is downward. Thisforce combined with the normal gravitational force provides the uprightmagnet or playing piece with additional stability. The key contributionof this net force, however, is to provide control during a piececonfrontation in which repulsion occurs as illustrated in FIG. 5.Without this control, the free magnet could readily fall several squaresbackward and interact with free standing magnets behind it.

A wide variety of magnetic materials are suitable for forming theplaying pieces. Barium ferrite in combination with a conventional rubberbinder has been found to be satisfactory, for example. In oneillustrative embodiment, a satisfactory magnetic field strength wasfound to measure 350 gauss at the surface and 750 gauss within theaperture.

Employing the basic principles of the invention as described above,various rules may be devised to control the exact manner in which thefeatures of the invention may be turned to account to provide aninteresting and exciting game. For example, the game may be played inthe following manner:

RULES TO BEGIN TO PLAY There are two methods of moving team pieces. Onemethod is designated the standard move and the other is the move withconfrontation.

The standard move may be made in any one of the following ways:

1. Advancing any one of your team pieces one block forward to the teamcolor marking within that block.

2. Advancing one block diagonally forward right or left to the teamcolor marker within that block.

3. Moving one block directly right or left to the team color markerwithin that block.

For example, a red team piece starting at position 107Br is permitted tomove as indicated by any one of the five dotted arrows shown in FIG. 1.

Moves may only be made to blocks which are not currently occupied byeither team. Backward moves are not allowed. Also, once a piece reachesa finish marker it may not be moved and that block is consideredoccupied.

The move with confrontation is made as any standard move defined abovewith the additional feature, however, of an objective of a face-to-faceconfrontation between opposing pieces. The move is accomplished bymoving to an unoccupied block which directly faces a block occupied bythe opponent. By such a confrontation, one of two events is bound tooccur. You will cause your opponent to retreat (fall), thus capturinghim, or your opponents piece will advance toward you and capture yourpiece.

Retreating If you capture your opponent, you must remove the fallenpiece and place it on one of your vacant starting markers with your teamcolor facing up. If there are no vacancies, you may hold the piece asideuntil it is your turn and a vacancy occurs. The piece is now a member ofyour set of team pieces and may be moved as any other of your teampieces may be moved.

Advancing If your opponent advances and captures you, he must return tohis previous position and remove the captured piece. He then places iton one of the vacant starting markers with his team color upright. Itthus becomes a member of his set of team pieces. If there are novacancies, the procedure described above should be followed. The gamethen continues with the team subjected to the confrontation making thenext move.

Playing Techniques The standard moves are usually made to advance towardthe team finish markers or to gain position on the board. The moves withconfrontation are usually made to attempt to increase the number of teampieces or to try to prevent a possible scoring situation by onesopponent.

For best playing results, pieces should not be lifted from the gameboard but should instead be advanced by sliding in the upright positionfrom block to block.

The pieces must always be positioned on the correct team color markerswithin a particular block or square on the board.

Scoring It is evident that any number of scoring schemes might beemployed satisfactorily. The following plan is illustrative. The game isterminated when one of the following conditions occurs:

1. Either team (player) successfully moves four team pieces into theappropriate team finish markers.

2. Either team (player) runs out of team pieces which can be legallymoved. For Case 1, above, each team counts 2 points for each finishmarker covered. Thus, the team that finishes first receives 8 points andthe other team receives something less than 8 points. For Case 2, eachteam counts 2 points for each finish marker covered and 1 point for eachteam piece still on the board on some marker other than the finishmarker. In such a case the maximum possible score would be 12 to O. Thefirst team to attain 30 or more points is declared the winner.

It will be apparent to persons familiar with game strategies that a widevarity of game rules may be devised based on the features of theinvention. For example, it is possible to introduce an additionalelement of skill into the game simply by numbering each piece or byotherwise giving each piece some distinctive indicia. With each pieceuniquely identifiable, the magnetic orientation of a piece with respectto one other piece is made known upon each confrontation move. If apiece is involved in several confrontations, the player who is able toremember the relative magnetic orientations revealed in each case is ofcourse placed at a distinct advantage in his ability to apply thatknowledge to his game strategy.

It is to be understood that the game embodiment disclosed herein ismerely illustrative of the features of the invention. Variousmodifications may be effected by persons skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1 claim:

l. A game comprising, in combination,

a playing surface and a plurality of playing pieces,

each of said pieces comprising a magnet having two major substantiallyparallel faces and a plurality of minor faces,

each of the two poles of said magnet being positioned on a respectiveone of said parallel faces,

said surface including a plurality of markings arranged in double rowsand single columns to indicate allowed areas for positioning saidpieces, vertically adjacent ones of said markings in each of said pairsof rows being spaced from each other at a distance determined by therelative magnitudes of the magnetic fields of said pieces so that piecesoriented with opposite polarity are physically drawn together whenplaced in adjacent ones of said markings and are physically repelledwhen oriented with like polarity, one of said last named pieces beingknocked over when the other of said last named pieces is fixedly held atsaid distance.

2. A combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of said magnetsis constructed around a substantially central aperture extending fromone of said major faces to the other.

3. A combination in accordance with claim 2 wherein each of said magnetshas four of said minor faces, all of said faces being substantiallyrectangular.

4. A combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein one end of each ofsaid pieces includes indicia visually identifiable with half of saidmarkings and wherein the other end of each of said pieces bears indiciavisually identifiable with the other half of said markings.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said playing surface isconstructed of magnetizable material.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of said pieces isuniquely and visually identifiable.

7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein the field of saidmagnets is substantially perpendicular to said poles.

8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said magnets comprisebarium ferrite in combination with a rubber binder.

1. A game comprising, in combination, a playing surface and a pluralityof playing pieces, each of said pieces comprising a magnet having twomajor substantially parallel faces and a plurality of minor faces, eachof the two poles of said magnet being positioned on a respective one ofsaid parallel faces, said surface including a plurality of markingsarranged in double rows and single columns to indicate allowed areas forpositioning said pieces, vertically adjacent ones of said markings ineach of said pairs of rows being spaced from each other at a distancedetermined by the relative magnitudes of the magnetic fields of saidpieces so that pieces oriented with opposite polarity are physicallydrawn together when placed in adjacent ones of said markings and arephysically repelled when oriented with like polarity, one of said lastnamed pieces being knocked over when the other of said last named piecesis fixedly held at said distance.
 2. A combination in accordance withclaim 1 wherein each of said magnets is constructed around asubstantially central aperture extending from one of said major faces tothe other.
 3. A combination in accordance with claim 2 wherein each ofsaid magnets has four of said minor faces, all of said faces beingsubstantially rectangular.
 4. A combination in accordance with claim 1wherein one end of each of said pieces includes indicia visuallyidentifiable with half of said markings and wherein the other end ofeach of said pieces bears indicia visually identifiable with the otherhalf of said markings.
 5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 whereinsaid playing surface is constructed of magnetizable material. 6.Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of said pieces isuniquely and visually identifiable.
 7. Apparatus in accordance withclaim 1 wherein the field of said magnets is substantially perpendicularto said poles.
 8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein saidmagnets comprise barium ferrite in combination with a rubber binder.